Thursday, January 30, 2014

Stockcar Teams Update 7

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November 2
Top of the South Speedway, Nelson
Tasman Thunder def Greymouth Grizzlies

November 9
Eastern States Speedway, Blenheim
Ken's Cowboys defeat Eastern States Titans
Canterbury Crushers def Ken's Cowboys
Eastern States Titans def Canterbury Crushers

November 15 & 16
Woodford Glen, Christchurch
Eastern States Titans 140 def Team Heibner 45
Ken's Cowboys def 150 def Canterbury Crushers 25
Ken"s Cowboys 150 def Eastern States Titans 35
Canterbury Crushers 150 def Team Heibner 35

November 15 & 16
Huntly Speedway, Waikato
Rotorua Rascals def Gisborne Gladiators
Stratford Stormers def Meeanee Maulers
Auckland Alleycats def Manawatu Steelers
Wanganui Vulcans def Waikato Raiders
Rotorua Rascals def Meeanee Maulers
Stratford Stormers def Gisborne Gladiators
Manawatu Steelers def Wanganui Vulcans
Auckland Alleycats def Waikato Raiders
Night 2
Manawatu Steelers def Gisborne Gladiators
Huntly Hawks def Baypark Bulldogs
Waikato Raiders def Meeanee Maulers
Auckland Alleycats def Stratford Stormers
Rotorua Rascals def Wanganui Vulcans
Meeanee Maulers def Gisborne Gladiators
Manawatu Steelers def Waikato Raiders
Wanganui Vulcans def Stratford Stormers
Rotorua Rascals def Auckland Alleycats

November 24th
Oceanview Speedway
Stratford Stormers def Wanganui Vulcans
Baypark Bulldogs def Huntly Hawks

November 30th 
Rotorua Rascals def Auckland Alleycats (Rees Shield)
Huntly Raiders def Gisborne Gladiators
Nelson Thunder def Canterbury Crushers

December 14th
Palmerston North Pumas def Wellington Young Guns
Wanganui Vulcans def Stratford Stormers

January 2nd
NZ Stockcar Teams Champs Qualifying
Rotorua Rascals 175 def Waikato Raiders 20
Wellington Young Guns 160 def Gisborne Gladiators 35
Canterbury Crushers 160 def Baypark Bulldogs 35
Tasman Thunder 185 def Auckland Alleycats 0
Stratford Stormers 135 def Eastern States Titans 60
Meeanee Maulers 165 def Wanganui Vulcans 0
Palmerston North Pumas 145 def Waikato Raiders 50
Rotorua Rascals 150 def Wellington Young Guns 45
Gisborne Gladiators 160 def Canterbury Crushers 35
Auckalnd Alleycats 110 def Baypark Bulldogs 85
Stratford Stormers 165 def Tasman Thunder 30
Wanganui Vulcans 145 def Eastern States Titans 50
Palmerston North Pumas 155 def Meeanee Maulers 40

NZ Stockcar Teams Finals
Wellington Young Guns def Canterbury Crushers
Gisborne Gladiators def Meeanee Maulers
Rotorua Rascals def Tasman Thunder
Palmerston North Pumas def Stratford Stormers
Stratford Stormers def Gisborne Gladiators
Wellington Young Guns def Tasman Thunder
Rotorua Rascals def Palmerston North Pumas

At World 240's, Paradise Valley Raceway
Rotorua Rascals def Waikato Raiders

2012/13 Season Final table HERE  Winners Eastern States Titans
2011/12 Season Final table HERE  Winners Waikato Raiders
2010/11 Season Final table HERE  Winners Palmerston North Pumas

Monday, January 27, 2014

NZ Superstock Grand Prix

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New Zealand Superstock Grand Prix, Stockcar Triples
Huntly Speedway, January 24 & 25

Not sure why the turnout was so low for this event, but it is a continuing trend in recent years that has seen the rot set in on the Superstock Grand Prix's value as a title worth winning. The Huntly promotion had put up decent prize money but while Palmerston North Speedway were running a normal night that drew 21 cars, this once prestigious title could only manage to muster 32 cars, which gives you an idea of the disinterest. The reigning champ, 62p Adam Joblin, two of the touring British drivers and a couple of South Island cars gave it the lustre it needed though, and although Friday nights qualifying was fairly tame and workmanlike, Saturday night was worth every penny and for a moment I thought the main event was going to be upstaged by the Stockcar Triples.

Qualifying Night Friday
With a finals field of 26 cars, only 6 were going to miss the cut so most of the sting was gone from qualifying, you basically just had to finish all three heats or not be last. It essentially came down to who had car trouble or tyre issues and the only aggression that really showed was in a night long battle between 11a Carl Hodge and 15r Steve Pribicevich which was very entertaining. A repechage was left for finals night to get the last two qualifiers.

Finals Night Saturday
Repechage
115a Darren Short and 68r Ashton Fleming would easily qualify while 71h Neville Hazelton's car died after hitting the wall early in the race. Hodge and Pribicevich continued their battle from Friday night ending each others chances but giving the crowd some great entertainment.

GP Heat 1
Lap one and 56s Bruce Williams was spun in front of the field holding up 52s Gary Johnson and 29a Scott Tennant, while 591p Wayne Hemi grabbed the lead. Williams suffered a flat left front tyre and was reduced to circling for points. 46b Quin Ryan spun between turns 3 & 4 holding up 38m Ross Ashby before 49m Chris Brown ran into the back of Ryan bringing on the red lights for the stationary Ryan car. At this point 118r Bryce Steiner had just taken the lead as Hemi was held up by the action surrounding the Ryan car, 1nz Penn had moved up to 5th. 18n Shane Harwood retired on the red light also. Hemi jumped the green light along with a number of drivers over the meeting (during the pause between green and red) and then stopped losing some momentum. 56s retired, 62h Dayne Conder pushed Tennant wide into the wall in turn 4, Chris Brown retired while 15m Karl Pegg was in the wall on turn 1. Pegg rejoined the race with a flat left rear tyre and while most people were watching to see 52p Scott Joblin restart after spinning backwards into the wall on the back straight, Pegg tangled with 115a Darren Short before a spectacular roll ending his night and bringing on the reds. Both 19m Remnant and 68r Fleming retired. Green lights and 118r Bryce Steiner had the perfect start to the championship with victory ahead of Hemi, Penn and 1gb Harris. The big mover though was our defending champ Joblin, from grid 22 up to 7th place.
Result: 118r, 591p, 1nz, 1gb, 62h, 19c, 62p, 92m, 71m, 217gb, 7a, 87b, 38m, 115a, 42a, 52s, 29a, 4a, 52p, 56s

GP Heat 2
19c Malcolm Ngatai ran the gauntlet on lap one pushed along the wall in turns 1 & 2 but came out unscathed, luck was not on heat 1 winner Steiner's side though as he went up and over the bonnet of 217gb Lee Fairhurst dropping to the rear of the field. 62h Conder speared into the wall on the back straight as 1gb Tom Harris lead the pack in the Simon Joblin car. 52s Johnson was spun in front of us on turns 3 and 4 holding up Penn and Ashby bringing on the reds for the striken Stratford car, 49m Brown also retiring. Upon the restart it turned into a big old flag race and the British driver and current world champ showed his class with a great victory and an overall points lead going into the final.
Result: 1gb, 18n, 19c, 62p, 87b, 52p, 56s, 29a, 591p, 46b, 92m, 42a, 62h, 115a, 1nz, 118r, 4a, 217gb, 38m

GP Heat 3
Going into heat 3, Tom Harris was leading on 49pts ahead of Ngatai on 45, Adam Joblin and Wayne Hemi on 43, then a gap back to Stanaway and Steiner on 37pts, Penn and Conder both on 36pts the only other ones in with a realistic chance. 21 cars fronted for the final heat and with 1gb Harris starting on grid 23 the hard work was all ahead of him. He was taken to the grass early while Ashby's night of being in the wrong place at the wrong time continued, into the wall on turn 4 of lap 1. 87b Thomas Stanaway lead with 62p Joblin in the box seat points wise, before 71m Tony Wootton ended Harris's chances with a massive blow in turn 2, 46b Ryan would finish him off bringing on the red lights for the damage to the front bumper of the 1gb car. 19m Kerry Remnant decided to get some teams racing practice in, taking on 62p, 591p and finally 18n Harwood. 52p Scott Joblin took the race win after things had settled into a flag race but 62p Adam Joblin doing enough for the overall win ahead of Ngatai and Hemi in third, retaining his title - which seems to be the theme for this season.
Overall: 62p 69pts, 19c 65pts, 591 64pts, 1nz 60pts, 87b 60pts, 118r 59pts

Stockcar Triples
This was supposed to be a support class to the main event but it very nearly eclipsed the GP for entertainment value! The Huntly club have a real winner with this idea, I absolutely loved the fact that in the third heat each team nominates a runner (and the only car that can score points) but no other team is told who it is, of course the result is that teams are tearing each other apart to stop all three cars finishing. Going into the last heat Team 9 consisting of two Auckland cars (Gary Lonergan and Troy Power) along with 93r Brent Stewart were leading on 121 points, ahead of Team 3 (Mark and Ben Caldwell and Ali Van Amsterdam) on 105 points. What followed was a perfect run by the A/R team as both Lonergan and Steward had turns at shepherding Troy Power's car through the carnage and one of the few teams that managed to get all 3 cars home in all three heats I believe. It was great seeing teams of cars mixed up like the Aucks having a Rotorua car, I wouldn't want to see it change to just A cars or R cars or whatever - its more about mates running together whether they are from the same club or not. It was a great idea executed perfectly and I'm guessing its gonna be huge in future seasons. Finally a big thanks to the Huntly club for putting on a great show, despite the fact that it wasn't really supported as well as it should have been, and massive thanks to whoever rejigged Saturdays programme and pricing - not many clubs would do that and it was well appreciated.

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Saturday, January 11, 2014

Penn Again

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NZ Superstock Title
Meeanee Speedway, Napier
January 3 & 4

I was going to say now that the dust has settled, but perhaps lumps of mud would be more apt! The NZ Superstock title held in Napier was a meeting that will more than likely be remembered for all the wrong reasons, which is a pity as Shane Penn managed to retain his 1nz title and join a very select group of drivers who have achieved this feat. Most of the controversy was swirling around the state of the track presented on Qualifying night, which rutted up to such a degree as to prove dangerous to spectators who were being pelted with lumps of track surface while drivers who had travelled far and wide to compete were battling just to get their cars home in one piece. It was disappointing to see and one of a number of issues that ruined the night for me, including a lack of seating space - which would be even worse on finals night, programmes sold out before 4pm, and of course the racing that followed which required long breaks to fix the track surface which seemed beyond repair. As the three of us left on Friday night, we heard there was a runoff, but after a night of being sardined in our seats and coated with mud we carried on walking to the car. My two traveling mates decided not to return on Saturday night, choosing rather to swim and get takeaways instead of Speedway, another two fans lost to the sport.

Overnight the internet was abuzz with how bad the track was and what would happen if it was the same for finals night and even threats from drivers who said they might not be returning. I made my feelings known on Facebook and got abused for "turning up 3 hours before the meeting started and expecting a seat!" I thought it was a joke at first but this guy was serious, and if our sport is that sad that you have to be at the track more than 3 hours before a qualifying night then we need to seriously look at the seating issues for a title that is growing in statue but not in professionalism. It pissed me off and as far as NZ titles go, it was the worst one I've ever been to at that stage. Fortunately the track surface was completely transformed for night two and whoever was involved in that process deserved a massive amount of praise. Many people thought it was a goner but they provided a smooth and fast track for the finals. Unfortunately nothing could be done about the seating and so over 4 hours of sitting in blistering sun was the price most of us paid to get a seat in the lower third of the stand I was squashed into the night before. Security guards started asking people to remove tarpaulins that were taking up massive amounts of space if nobody was sitting on them and then the guards were getting abused and in the end the place was oversold, people were dangerously close to the fence, the stands were over capacity and the grassed areas were uncomfortable with little or no access ways. Through it all we were constantly asked over the PA to "just squeeze up a little bit as more people are coming in the gates!"

So that paints a fairly unpleasant picture of the facilities but what about the actual racing? Because it was near on impossible to write about, let alone watch and enjoy the qualifying, I didn't bother on Friday night but most of the usual suspects made it through the four groups to make up the initial 24 finalists with repecharges to find the final two qualifiers on night two. It was great to see 92m Kyle Fraser qualify in what would be his last shot at the crown, but another former champion 591p Wayne Hemi had a horror night and would be consigned to the repecharges. Both of the repecharges were great with locals grabbing the final spots much to the delight of the crowd. In fact, I think these two races were probably better than any of the 3 final heats. In the first race, 37b Garry Foley benefitted when the entire lead group of cars spun and ended up in the wall in turns 3 & 4 and then the focus was on how close Wayne Hemi could get to that one qualification spot moving from grid 16 up to 2nd before 84b Mike McLachlan ended his run as he closed in on Foley. Another take-out in the other race too as an impressively fast 71p Shane Mellsop was running away with the race before club mate 112p Shaun Pearson took him out in his efforts to support 88p Jack Miers. 16b Steve Jude took over the lead and held it well, an excellent block by 9b Adam Groome stopped 2nz Dale McKenzie from a last lap chance at removing Jude. Two local Bay cars completing the final 26.

Finals Heat 1  8.46pm
A tentative start by 32p Graeme Barr from the rear of the field was a lucky break as the huge squeeze into turn one took 5 cars out of the running immediately, 52p Scott Joblin, 19c Malcolm Ngatai who was tipped over, 23r Lance Ashton, 72p Simon Joblin and 135r Scott Hewson all involved. Ashton and Ngatai would not make the restart and for Ashton it was the end of the night with gearbox issues. 581p Jordan Dare took an early lead, pinned his ears back and went for the win making a huge statement to the competition. 7n Craig Boote came home in second and looked every bit the champion while 10p Peter Rees made a great start coming home in third with the fastest lap of the race, but it was the next two home that had made the biggest moves, 1nz Penn making up 14 places and 52p Joblin despite the bad start picking up an incredible 18 spots.
Top 10: 581p, 7n, 10p, 1nz, 52p, 37b, 87m, 62p, 58p, 18n

Finals Heat 2  9.55pm
A long 3 minute bell for 19c Ngatai who was starting on grid 1 delayed the start and eventually he would retire for the night with the damage sustained in heat one. 87m David Elsworth lead out early but 1nz Penn would take over before our first major attack by 126p Asher Rees forcing 7n Boote into the wall and tipping the Nelson driver over and out of the contest. A dnf in heat one always meant Rees would be on the prowl and once again the 3 time champion fell at the hands of a Palmy car. Penn carried on to win the heat ahead of Elsworth and 31p Andy McCabe, putting himself on top of the points and as the current champion, a sure target in heat three. Some confusion over where 52p Scott Joblin finished had caused some drama as many people watched him almost roll on turn 2 and yet he was credited with a 5th place finish. A situation the Joblin team handled well informing the officials it wasn't possible although after heat three he would be temporarily crowned 3nz!
Top 10: 1nz, 87m, 31p, 72p, 32p, 581p, 58p, 18n, 66b, 62p

Finals Heat 3  11.05pm
24 Cars fronted for heat three with Penn on 49pts, Dare 47, Elsworth 45, Peter Rees 40 and the only other real contender Peter Bengston on 38pts. Barr and Harwood were a bit further back on 36 points. Now in normal circumstances you would think that the reigning champ who was also leading on points wouldn't see out the final heat, that Dare might sneak a podium finish if club mates protected him while Elsworth would be hard pushed to survive with little or no support. In my mind Peter Rees and Peter Bengston were in the box seats. 32p Barr would lead from start to finish in a fairly tame race. As I thought, 87m David Elsworth was taken out but surprisingly by a HB car, 41b Jason Long and 135r Hewson made sure of the fact with an extra shunt for good measure although both Elsworth and Hewson were removed. Craig Boote got a revenge shot on Asher Rees bringing on the reds but in the process damage to the diff of his own car ended his race also. Peter Rees hopes nosedived when he shreaded the right rear tyre and his elusive 1nz title hopes were dashed for another season. 1nz Shane Penn followed Barr home in second ahead of 18n Shane Harwood and 72p Simon Joblin. With barely a scratch on the car, 1nz Shane Penn had successfully retained his title and the fist pumps out the window as he waited to cross the line during a late red light stoppage were a joy to see.

Finally, I don't know if this meeting will go down as a classic, but Penn's achievement certainly should. The dominance of Palmerston North cars continues with seven of the top 10 cars coming from the Manawatu track. 18n Shane Harwood the fly in the ointment, coming home in 5th, an incredible result in its own right. Next season this meeting will be held in Wellington and I hope they have some plan for the crowds that will descend on Te Marua Speedway. I've never been to Wellington Speedway and if the arrangements for the meeting are similar to this one I wont be going, I'd rather save my money and watch online and that's a pretty bad indictment on the sport I love.

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Friday, January 10, 2014

Stockcar Teams Update 6


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November 2
Top of the South Speedway, Nelson
Tasman Thunder def Greymouth Grizzlies

November 9
Eastern States Speedway, Blenheim
Ken's Cowboys defeat Eastern States Titans
Canterbury Crushers def Ken's Cowboys
Eastern States Titans def Canterbury Crushers

November 15 & 16
Woodford Glen, Christchurch
Eastern States Titans 140 def Team Heibner 45
Ken's Cowboys def 150 def Canterbury Crushers 25
Ken"s Cowboys 150 def Eastern States Titans 35
Canterbury Crushers 150 def Team Heibner 35

November 15 & 16
Huntly Speedway, Waikato
Rotorua Rascals def Gisborne Gladiators
Stratford Stormers def Meeanee Maulers
Auckland Alleycats def Manawatu Steelers
Wanganui Vulcans def Waikato Raiders
Rotorua Rascals def Meeanee Maulers
Stratford Stormers def Gisborne Gladiators
Manawatu Steelers def Wanganui Vulcans
Auckland Alleycats def Waikato Raiders
Night 2
Manawatu Steelers def Gisborne Gladiators
Huntly Hawks def Baypark Bulldogs
Waikato Raiders def Meeanee Maulers
Auckland Alleycats def Stratford Stormers
Rotorua Rascals def Wanganui Vulcans
Meeanee Maulers def Gisborne Gladiators
Manawatu Steelers def Waikato Raiders
Wanganui Vulcans def Stratford Stormers
Rotorua Rascals def Auckland Alleycats

November 24th
Oceanview Speedway
Stratford Stormers def Wanganui Vulcans
Baypark Bulldogs def Huntly Hawks

November 30th 
Rotorua Rascals def Auckland Alleycats (Rees Shield)
Huntly Raiders def Gisborne Gladiators
Nelson Thunder def Canterbury Crushers

December 14th
Palmerston North Pumas def Wellington Young Guns
Wanganui Vulcans def Stratford Stomers

January 2nd
NZ Stockcar Teams Champs Qualifying
Rotorua Rascals 175 def Waikato Raiders 20
Wellington Young Guns 160 def Gisborne Gladiators 35
Canterbury Crushers 160 def Baypark Bulldogs 35
Tasman Thunder 185 def Auckland Alleycats 0
Stratford Stormers 135 def Eastern States Titans 60
Meeanee Maulers 165 def Wanganui Vulcans 0
Palmerston North Pumas 145 def Waikato Raiders 50
Rotorua Rascals 150 def Wellington Young Guns 45
Gisborne Gladiators 160 def Canterbury Crushers 35
Auckalnd Alleycats 110 def Baypark Bulldogs 85
Stratford Stormers 165 def Tasman Thunder 30
Wanganui Vulcans 145 def Eastern States Titans 50
Palmerston North Pumas 155 def Meeanee Maulers 40

2012/13 Season Final table HERE  Winners Eastern States Titans
2011/12 Season Final table HERE  Winners Waikato Raiders
2010/11 Season Final table HERE  Winners Palmerston North Pumas

Tuesday, January 07, 2014

Bloody rain!

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NZ Stockcar Title
Palmerston North Showgrounds
Dec 28 + 29

Unfortunately, the unpredictable nature of New Zealand's weather means there is always the risk of rain at big titles over the 'summer' period, but the Palmy weather made it a difficult watch for the modest crowd that fronted on night one of qualifying for the 14th official running of the New Zealand Stockcar title at Palmerston North. With menacing clouds building up south of the track, I had a good look through the pits pre-meeting and was amazed at the quality of machinery fronting. Old local bangers fronting up for a chance of glory taking out a high profile visitor are a thing of the past these days and I wonder if the promise of over 70+ Palmy registered cars put off a number of visiting drivers who might normally chance their arm. The final car count was something like 161 cars which is incredible but considering over 70 were from Palmy it must have been disappointing to not break the record for entries or indeed break the magical 200 cars at one title. Now I'm not getting all political here, but I did expect to see a few more cars front from Nelson considering they are hosting the title next year, so a huge well done to 93n Ben Smith for not only attending but putting up a great effort. Also I heard there were a number of team cars from various tracks around the country also in town but not being run - which is odd I would have thought, although saving their cars for the grueling teams meeting might not be such a bad idea...

Night one qualifying, as mentioned earlier, was chopped off at the knees after the first round for all seven groups had been completed, the heavens opened up and dumped a huge load of rain on the track. It was hard luck for the guys in group seven who basically drove on an ice skating rink as groups of cars freight-trained their way around the track using the wall to keep their car moving forward, to me it seemed unfair for anyone who had a rear grid starting position as they had no opportunity to pass unless someone made a mistake in the freight train and got spat out. A few cars, 58p Daniel Lockwood being one of them, stayed off the wall and drove on the centre of the track and I would have thought had a good chance at protesting against the wall users but the results stood and we would all have to front up the next night, weather permitting, for the remaining qualifying heats to be run. As I ran through the pits to get to my car, my notes fell from my jacket and landed in a puddle summing up the night!

The dodgy weather continued overnight but it looked as though we had seen the last of it as the 6pm start time arrived and indeed sun block was making an appearance! We managed to get one more round of racing in for all seven groups before the rain once again stopped proceedings although this time the promoters were determined to get the qualifying completed and after about an hour and a half, and the incredible sight of team buses, stockcars, utes and anything else they could muster wheel packing, the meeting was able to continue. An amazing effort by all involved, and biggest cheer of the meeting ironically for the grader driver as he emerged from the pits! So here is a very brief rundown of what I saw, I wasn't going to bother because I never got to see the finals but since I went to the effort of taking notes (very soggy ones by the end of the two nights) here they are:

Group 1
Heat one was a bit comical as cars appeared to miss the call to grid up and after 13 minutes of opening and shutting the pit gate to let stragglers onto the track, and some arguing over whether the 72r car could compete, we finally had our first heat ready to run. 921p Brett Lloyd must wonder what he has to do to survive the first lap of this meeting, if my memory is right he was the first car eliminated at Christchurch last year and was spun in front of the pack on lap 1 of this race bringing on the reds to remove him and 172p Daniel Burmeister who's wheel guard came off. 1nz Pete Rees had moved from the rear of the field up to 5th and would finish in the top 5. 75p Gavin Taniwha taking the first win in the impressive green tank. Heat 2 featured a rollover for 741a Craig Chatfield squeezed up the wall by 72r  David Rumney and 25p Tony East was dragged for half a lap facing the wrong way. 1nz Rees was leading after 4 laps and took the win ahead of 67w Kane Hargreaves. The 67w had suffered a flat right rear in heat one and would need a miracle to qualify. Heat 3 and 95b Jason Penn was the popular target as he was high up on points. 357p Aaron Iremonger was first to have a go assuring himself of a top four position at Penn's expense. 512p Jacob Neill was one of the major stirrers but 67w Hargreaves put a massive shot on him late in the race. Qualifiers: 1nz Rees, 29p Rackham, 75p Taniwha and 357p Iremonger.

Group 2
2nz Damian Orr would feature in this group and lead early from a grid 3 start only to be passed by 17p Shane Simpson for the win. 7w Shane Davis and 48p Damian Mulcahy would tangle costing them both qualifying spots with one of the favourites Davis rejoining in last place. 99p Ron Tye was the real surprise finishing in 5th and showing great speed. 89w Dale Robertson claiming a third. Heat two featured the HUGE roll of 99p Tye whilst in 8th place and looking a great chance to qualify. 6v Dion Mooney went in to stirring mode and 21b Joshua Swannell was his first of a few victims before losing his tyre completely and having little effective steering. 37s Mark Phipps picked up a second place and was high on points going into heat 3. A 3 min bell for 17p Simpson failed to fix whatever problem he had and a DNS finished his chances. An early spin for both 2nz and 89w meant they spent the whole race trying to make up places from the rear of the field. 371p Benji Sneddon took the win ahead of 31p Gary Davis and 581p Jordan Dare. Sneddon also highest overall points for this group. 89w Robertson would fail by a couple of points and need the repercharge to qualify. Qualifiers: 371p Sneddon, 2nz Orr, 31p Davis, 581p Dare.

Group 3
3nz William Humphries started on grid 6 and was looking good until near the end of the race lost power and slowed considerably losing a lot of places. A great battle between 119p Zac Harris and 971p Jayden Ward for first place won by Harris with no quarter given. 72s Bevan Phillips one of the most underrated drivers out there came home in 3rd and a flat tyre cost 44c Tim Ross in the tank. Heat 2 had 39r Douglas Stanaway winning but current 3nz Humphries would be held up after spinning 27h Brett Aiken only to be rear ended by 45p Aaron Watson bringing on the red lights. A couple more red lights for 181p and 61v before 91w Kyle Lane launched 14v Daniel Matthews up and into the fence in impressive style. Ward, 473r Hall, Harris and Phillips rounded out the top 5. Heat 3 and only 16 cars fronted leaving a few gaps, 32s Mark Duthie was spun in front of the pack before 971p Ward took over the lead for the race. Two Rotorua hopes had their hopes dashed, 86r Richard Keijzer spun on the last lap by 27h Brett Aiken and 39r Stanaway spinning in turn 3 and remaining stationery. Both Hall and Phillips got caught up in a turn four tangle but would qualify. Qualifiers: 971p Ward, 119p Harris, 72s Phillips, 473r Hall.

Group 4
Lots of drama in this race with 79a Ben Ellis rolled in front of the grandstand (it became a bad spot for Auckland cars as Craig Chatfield can attest) brought on the first red light. 107c Colin Cameron, 16v Cody Alabaster and 92p Brent Lowe would tangle in turn 3 causing a flat left front tyre for Cameron. 15p Rob Miers would lead before what seemed a fairly tame accident at the far end of the track would result in some serious injuries to Ethan Rees in the 127p. Upon the restart 8r Scott Fredrickson spun the 99w of Tony McLaughlin and 53p Todd O'Donnell took over the lead and won the first heat from Miers, 24w Scott McIntosh and 631r Luke Dilworth. Heat 2 and Fredrickson lead from start to finish and we had another rollover with a battle between McLaughlin and 52p Russell Barry ending in Barry being rolled. 35s Josh Walsh had a go at the 8r but the biggest battle was between McIntosh and Miers with Miers spinning late in the race losing a massive amount of points that would prove costly overall. Luke Dilworth picked up another impressive haul of points in 2nd. Heat 3 and Dilworth took a great win and overall points in the group. 107c Cameron's slim chance of qualifying was ended by 99w McLaughlin while Miers was tied up with 78h Darryl Porteous. 8r, 53p and 34p Rob Mason rounded out the top finishers for heat 3. Qualifiers: 631r Dilworth, 8r Fredrickson, 24w McIntosh, 53p O'Donnell.

Group 5
Despite some engine damage during the practice run, the 59c of Brad Rosewarne made it out for heat one. 44h Anthony McNeil had the early lead but 501p Jay Knight would eventually take the win. 126p Asher Rees would make huge gains from a rear of field start, 93r Brent Stewart coming home second while a spin from 8p Jamie Baguley in front of 95a Gary Lonergan would cost him dearly dropping a few places. Heat 2 and as with every other group the lap one pinball would catch out 44h, 64b and 59c all spun and rejoining at the back of the field. 223p Kyle Taylor and 93r would tangle leaving lots of body damage on the Rotorua car. 98w Blake Ellett picked up the win from Rees, 15v Kyle Heibner, 22p Zack Hoult and 95a Lonergan. Heat 3 had 18 cars with Asher Rees on pole looking good for a finals berth but the big battle was between Gaskin, Lonergan and Ellett for one of the elusive 3 remaining qualifying spots. A red light for 555r Les Holland who was tipped over by Rosewarne mid race had Rees, Heibner and 992p Taylor Lampp leading although 38m James Hamilton had given Heibner a scare earlier, 501p Jay Knight was looking good for the finals until a last lap tangle with 93r and 6w Paul Gaskin left all three spread across the track in front of the main grandstand, Lonergan deftly avoided the carnage and looked good for the final berth only to miss by a point to 98w Ellett who  made it home ahead of him. Knight unable to get the car across the line so close to qualifying. Qualifiers: 126p Rees, 15v Heibner, 992p Lampp, 98w Ellett.

Group 6
Heat one, night one, and this was when the rain started to make its first appearance at the championship. 517s Mark Woods had the early lead but 13r Grendon Beazley - yet another Rotorua car making an early statement - took the win. 74b Tony Palmer was given a wild ride along the wall, 26p Nic Davey and 73p Mitchell Hill got hooked up in turns 2 and 3 while a spin for 89v Blair Lockett and a nasty backwards smack into the wall for 7s Richard Hart effectively ended all of their hopes for finals night. Heat 2 started with 722p David Lowe riding up over the wheel of 22w Richard Gaskin but this would be his only problem as he took the lead off 89v Lockett and held on for the win. 29a Scott Tennant grabbing a haul of points in 3rd ahead of 13r Beazley and 509p Chris Knight. Heat 3 had Tennant on pole and he kept the lead and did all he could to qualify. 981r Steve Gray ended Richard Gaskins hopes with a massive hit in turn 2 bringing on the red lights. The reds came on again to retrieve 55p Jason Marshall who was dealt to by Christchurch driver Harley Robb. Dale Stewart and Blair Lockett also gaining some attention but 509p Chris Knight finishing in the top 5 gaining enough points to force a runoff with Tennant for the last qualifying spot, which he would win. Qualifiers: 722p Lowe, 13r Beazley, 557p Wallace, 509p Knight.

Group 7
Heat one, this race was a disaster and there were a few unhappy muddy drivers in the pits immediately following the mudfest that brought night one to an early end. 97p Graeme Ward's hopes ended early with a fire bringing on the reds although he seemed reluctant to leave the track. A few cars sloshed their way around the track but most used the wall to keep their cars up to speed and eventually the win came the way of 259p Gary Hobbs. Night two for heat two and sprinkles of rain again starting for this unlucky group. 74p Chev Taniwha would take first place after a number of leaders fell by the wayside including 13e, 46w and 10p Prentice who would eventually come home second. 19r Sam Pearson had problems all race circling slowly only to be king hit just short of the finish line. A last lap spin for 651a Troy Power ended his hopes. Heat 3 38p Neil Coley put 14b Jemma Palmer up the wall bringing on the reds. 10p Josh Prentice lead early and took a comprehensive win, looking a strong chance in the finals. 505p Robbie James spun Troy Power, the reds came on again for 191c Dylan Robb who was stuck in the mud on pit bend and Coley gave Rotorua driver 98r Mark Costello some problems before slowly crossing the line to claim the last qualifying spot for this group. Qualifiers: 74p Taniwha, 10p Prentice, 259p Hobbs, 98r Costello.

Sadly, that's where my championship ended too, flights home couldn't be changed and the wretched weather wins again! An incredibly frustrating end to what was shaping up to be a great finals night. As expected, the locals dominated the finals field with 18 of the 30 cars coming from Palmy - an amazing achievement - leaving 12 cars to represent the rest of New Zealand. Scott Tennant and Dale Robertson would claim the last two spots through the repecharges raced on finals night. As I boarded my flight to leave 'sunny' Palmy I noticed Bruce Robertson was also onboard, he must have drawn the short straw to head up to Auckland for a meeting running at Waikaraka Park that night. One thing that really stood out from this trip was that the Palmy promoters are the kings of "the show must go on" and I doubt many clubs would have even attempted to get the qualifying under way so I have huge respect for them and their efforts to run this meeting. For a full run down on what happened on finals night go to the excellent Robertson Holden Speedway website HERE.

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